Senator Carper Statement on USPS Financial Losses in 2016

Press Release – November 16 2016WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senator Tom Carper (D-Del.), top Democrat on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, released the following statement in response to the announcement that the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) reported a net loss of $5.6 billion in fiscal year 2016. This report comes after the Postal Service faced the first rate decrease in nearly a century with the court-mandated expiration of the emergency surcharge put in place after the Great Recession – the only measure keeping the Postal Service from financial collapse over the last two years.

“Albert Einstein said that definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. The news that, despite rises in revenue, the U.S. Postal Service is reporting significant losses in 2016 should not come as a surprise to anyone. Quarter after quarter, year after year, these reports reaffirm the obvious – that without Congressional action, the Postal Service will remain unable to raise enough revenue to cover its costs and will continue to suffer losses that threaten its long-term viability. It is long past time that Congress comes together to finally address the Postal Service’s dire situation and chart a new course for this critical institution once and for all.”

“With the election finally behind us, Congress must get back to work and take advantage of the opportunity before us to stabilize the $1.4 trillion mailing industry that employs more than seven million Americans. We must come together around significant, bipartisan reforms that can stabilize the Postal Service’s financial situation and stop the downward spiral of this American institution before it is too late. It is also imperative that we fill the many vacancies that unfortunately continue to exist on the Postal Board of Governors and the Postal Regulatory Commission in order to give the Postal Service the oversight and direction needed to succeed. I will continue working with my House and Senate colleagues to ensure that we finally fill these crucial positions and get these critical reforms over the finish line.”

Senator Carper introduced the Improving Postal Operations, Service, and Transparency Act of 2015, in September 2015. iPOST reflects the views of a broad range of stakeholders and offers a compromise solution to the difficult issues that Congress and the Postal Service have struggled with for years. The bill includes a comprehensive package of reforms that would place the Postal Service on firm financial footing, stabilize and improve service performance, allow for the development of new products and services, and enhance transparency, and is cosponsored by Senators Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.), Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) Susan Collins (R-Maine), and Senator Mark Warner (D-Va.).